When this movie came out, it was certainly better than the past few Marvel movies had been – but that’s not saying much, and in fact Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 was riddled with flaws and plot confusion.

The story picks up after the events of Infinity War and Endgame, and Star Lord’s sorrow at the loss of Gamora is definitely a main part of this movie. But, in similar fashion to Vol 2 of Guardians of the Galaxy, it delves into a character’s backstory. In Vol 2, we learned more about Star Lord’s father and how the Guardians came to be formed.

In Volume 3, we are shown more about where Rocket raccoon came from, in a rather tragic and perhaps touching manner. In fact, it seemed at the time of this movie’s release, that the main reason people really enjoyed it, and – frankly – defended it, was because they got to see Rocket as a baby raccoon.

But, while this movie did have moments of fan appeal, like that, as well as some genuine strengths, these were not enough to successfully carry the endeavor as a whole, or even make it good.

Now, I do have to give this movie credit for some of the camera work, particularly during the action sequences, there was some fantastic maneuvering and stunt work performed in those sections. However, these moments of “good filmmaking” stood out in stark contrast to the colorful, boring CGI mess that was the rest of the movie.

Overall? This move felt disorganized, vaguely emotional – without really being so, and just strange. Honestly, when did Marvel get so weird? I had this same issue with Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Watch my full review here: